Four men sentenced to hang for gang rape and murder of New Delhi woman lured on to bus

NEW DELHI — An Indian court Friday sentenced to death four men for the December gang rape and murder of a young New Delhi woman, ordering them to the gallows for a brutal attack on a bus that left the woman with such severe internal injuries that she died two weeks later.

The attack had transfixed India, where it was seen as a reflection on rampant mistreatment of women and the government’s inability to deal with crime.

“In these times, when crime against women is on the rise, the courts cannot turn a blind eye toward such gruesome crimes,” Judge Yogesh Khanna said in announcing the sentence. He said the attack “shocked the collective conscience” of India.

After the death sentence, the wail of one of the four men, 20-year-old Vinay Sharma, filled the tiny courtroom. Sharma, an assistant at a gym, then broke down in sobs.